By Nicole Winfield, The Associated Press
ROME - Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi insisted Tuesday that his government would last its full term despite a new clamour for early elections after he intervened to spare a teenage runaway named Ruby from possible jail time.
Opposition politicians have called for Berlusconi to resign, charging that he abused his office by calling police in May when Ruby, then 17, was detained for an alleged theft.
Newspapers have reported that Berlusconi told police that a local party official would take custody of the girl from Morocco, who reportedly visited Berlusconi's Milan villa on at least one occasion.
Even centre-right commentators in Berlusconi's family-owned newspapers have criticized him for intervening in a possible criminal case. Berlusconi's now-estranged ally, Gianfranco Fini, said his antics had embarrassed the country.
But Berlusconi again defended his lifestyle and fondness for young women, telling a trade fair in Milan on Tuesday it was
His comments sparked immediate condemnation from gay rights group Arcigay, which demanded an apology for causing offence to both women and gays.
Berlusconi assured supporters his government still had a majority and would last the remaining three years of its five-year term. He said early elections would be a disaster for a country emerging from the economic crisis.
Italian voters, he said, "would have the right to say 'How is this possible? We elected you two years ago and we gave you the majority to govern and instead of governing you're here fighting.'"
He called the Ruby scandal a "paper storm" whipped up by hostile, deceptive newspapers and again defended his decision to intervene in her case.
In May, Ruby was detained by Milan police for an alleged theft but was let go after Berlusconi called police and arranged for a party official, onetime showgirl and Berlusconi dental hygienist Nicole Minetti, to take custody of her.
Berlusconi has admitted to intervening to help Ruby and said Tuesday he'd do it again.
"You will see when this is over that there was nothing more than an act of solidarity ... which I would have been ashamed not to do and I did it and I do it regularly because I'm made that way," he said.
Ruby, meanwhile, told Libero, a conservative newspaper close to Berlusconi, that she would tell her version of the story Thursday on a popular state-run RAI television talk show. Her comments have been inconsistent and even Libero questioned her truthfulness.
She repeated she never had intimate relations with the premier, though she said she "adored" him. She clarified that while another young woman linked to Berlusconi, Noemi Letizia, referred to him as "papi," she called him "premier."
Berlusconi's relationship with Letizia, an 18-year-old would-be model from Naples, sparked a scandal last year that prompted Berlusconi's second wife to file for divorce.
Soon after, a high-end prostitute, Patrizia D'Addario, claimed she had spent a night with the premier and had tape recorded their encounter.
The conservative Italian leader has said he has never paid anyone for sex. Prosecutors have said Berlusconi was not under investigation.
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